Title of Series: Soul Searching
Name: Faith in the Dark
Author: FaItHzAnGeL a.k.a. Fernando Rangel
Email: fivexangel@aol.com
Pairings: None as of yet….
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Not at all. Besides, why would you want to sue a high school student? For the lint in my pockets?
Author's Notes: AU. That's about it. Oh! Spoilers for Season 5 Finale. Buffy's dead, no one's bringing her back—a s far as I can tell right now at least… There are excerpts from Jewel, Michelle Branch, and Treble Charger.
Summary: When heroes collide, the unlikeliest things happen. For Faith and Supergirl, they'll learn that lesson the hard way…
Category: Action/Adventure, Angst, Romance, Horror, Drama
Spoilers: Season One through Five of Buffy the Vampire up to and including "The Gift". Barring Five by Five and Sanctuary of Angel, that's where it goes AU. This also contains spoilers from Supergirl of DC Comics. Pretty much issues one through fifty right now.
Rating: PG
Dedication: To Sadie, cause you gave me enough drive to continue this (you too Mandy!!) with your one review--see people how reviews beget more story? ;-)
Feedback: I'd love to get feedback. So, if you read this, and would like to give a guy a pat on the back, then go on ahead and give me feedback!
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Inside my heart
There's an empty room.
It's waiting for lightning;
It's waiting for you
I am wanting and...
I am needing you here
Inside the absence of fear
===============
This wasn't happening.
She wasn't dead.
Buffy was going to walk through those doors any minute now.
Dawn sat in her black dress, the very same she wore to her mother's funeral not too long ago, by the stairs of her home staring at the front door. Tears stained Dawn's face, her cheeks reddened, nose runny, and eyes bloodshot, This isn't happening.
Willow held herself tightly as she watched from the living room as Dawn sniffed, and heaved, with hope beyond hope that her beloved sister would come back, that she wasn't dead--but they'd all seen the body. They all watched her nose-dive into the watery portal of eminent death. It was all too real, Poor Dawn.
Willow sniffed as she held her hand to her nose, a tissue sticking from her palm as the group hung around the living room in silence. Anya wrapped her arms around Xander's own for support, as Xander buried his hand to hide his streaming face; he'd fought so hard to be strong. Tara sat quietly by wall, and Giles sat alone looking out the window—his glasses off, and his brow furrowed.
Willow watched him carefully and slowly walked toward him, "Hey," she whispered meekly.
Giles gave her a small smile, "Hello."
"You're by yourself, one rarely should do that at a..." She choked back the word, and he nodded slowly.
He ran his hand through her hair in a fatherly protective way as he replied, "Quiet solitary contemplation."
"About?"
"Well, that once the Council finds that Buffy has passed fulfilling her duty as the Slayer..."
"They'll what?"
He sighed, "Go after Faith most likely. With a rogue slayer on our hands, one who is the only person in the world who can continue the line of the Slayer..."
"What do you mean?" He sighed as he signaled her to follow him, they moved through the kitchen, and sat on the patio together. "Willow, when Buffy died that first time--when we were lucky enough to bring her back, she activated Kendra. She cannot activate another, the line carries through to Faith."
"But...then the only way to have another Slayer is to..."
"Precisely. I fear that they will be after her soon, she's as I said a rogue."
Willow fiddled with her hands nervously, "I see."
"Yes, and my thoughts have also been to Dawn. With Buffy gone, her only other Legal Guardian, she'll have to return to her father." Willow nodded lightly. "However, I fear that her father is not up to such a task. Should he take her back, who knows what things might be like for her. He neglected to even show up to Joyce's funeral when she passed—and I have yet to see his concern now...," he exclaimed in a restrained voice, although anger was evident. Willow rubbed his arm lightly to calm him down.
Willow sighed, "What are we going to do?"
"I'm not sure. I'm not sure of anything, quite frankly. Without Buffy...it feels..."
"Like the end of the world," she spoke softly, and Giles lightly nodded.
* * * * *
"Have you any word yet of the Slayer?" The cloaked demon paced back and forth, as he waited for his lackey to respond. His remote silence angered Lojeh, and he turned to him swiftly, "You answer when I question you! Did you, or did you not find the Slayer!"
The lowly demon cowered and meekly replied, "N-no my liege, its more difficult than we had first anticipated, she's clever at changing places—never stays in one place for too long before she moves, usually gone by the time we think we've found her."
Lojeh growled as he raised his taloned claws before the pitiful excuse for a demon tracing its features, "You find me the girl, and you will not fail. We need that sacrifice, and we need it now! There are only a few more days until it is a perfect time for the ritual, and I will not have you fumbling it up for the Master."
"I swear to it..."
Lojeh slammed the scaly demon into the wall, "Do not promise, follow through! I want to see the girl at my mercy!"
The lizard-like demon scurried away as he stared at the very angry Lojeh, whose crimson eyes glowed with anger. From the mirror he could hear a slow rumbling growl, "You should have the sacrifice by now," the voice of death itself seemed to speak through Lojeh's master, so cold and sinister it brought terror even to him. Lojeh nodded slowly, "Yes, but I seem to be surrounded by idiots..."
Valados growled, "I don't care about your trivial complications, my destiny awaits, and the stepping stone is here! I need the blood of a Blessed One so that I may escape this reflecting hell and move into reality, and destroy the world bringing chaos to my faithful followers. I do not want this to become a problem, is that understood?"
Lojeh cowered and nodded slowly, "I swear you shall be set free."
"There is a war being fought and it's happening on the hellmouth, my being there is an important factor."
"Yes my liege."
"Do not fail me."
"I will not."
"Then find the girl, get me her blood, and burn her to the bloody ground."
* * * * *
"Thank you for coming Supergirl on so short notice."
Supergirl nodded slowly, "It's no problem Mr. Giles, but may I ask why I am here? It was never fully disclosed to me."
"Well, when I contacted Lex..."
"How do you know him?"
Giles swallowed a little hard, "The people that I work for, they are...friends, with very powerful people. Mr. Luthor happens to be one of them I'm afraid. Since I knew you and him had a rather public affair..." He stopped himself, giving Supergirl a rather embarrassed smile, "Excuse me, relationship..." Supergirl gave him an accepting nod and signaled for him to continue, "Yes, well Mr. Luthor informed me that you were here in California and it would be easy for me to just..."
"Follow the sightings?"
He nodded slowly, "I hired a detective, as you know, and here you are."
"Yes, but why Mr. Giles."
There was a quiet knock on the door as Dawn walked into the living room, "Hey Giles."
Giles looked up and smiled, "Hello Dawn, come in, this is..."
Dawn's eyes widened, "S-supergirl!"
The blonde heroine smiled lightly, giving her a tiny wave, "Hello there."
Dawn shuffled toward Giles as she whispered, "You didn't tell me you knew Supergirl..."
"This is business Dawn, how can I help you?"
She frowned, "Slayer stuff?" He nodded lightly, "More like Watcher stuff."
She sighed, "I was wondering if it would be alright to order out, Willow's spent most of her cooking knowledge, and Tara only knows foreign foods that require...well, foreign foods."
Giles chuckled lightly, "Why don't you three go out, my treat. You three need to go get some air anyhow." She nodded, "Thanks Giles." He watched her leave, a pained expression on his face. Dawn turned back slightly, "Bye, Supergirl, it was nice meeting you."
"You too...Dawn was it?" Dawn grinned, She said my name! Xander is so going to be jealous of me now. Dawn turned back and headed out, leaning against the wall, I wonder what Buffy would have said. Slowly she jogged up the stairs closing the door to her room behind her, she was suddenly not feeling hungry.
"She's beautiful, your daughter?"
Giles smiled lightly, "Hardly, I haven't been blessed. She's the sister of...a pupil of mind. She recently passed, as well as the mother, I'm here taking care of her until...the legalities of what's to happen to her are settled."
Supergirl looked back at the stairwell, "You're a very dedicated man."
He nodded lightly, "This isn't in my job description. They're like family now." He cleared his throat, "But the work part of my endeavor is what caused me to use my influences to find you."
Supergirl nodded, "Go on."
"You see, Supergirl, there is a girl out there who...was sort of my pupil at the same time that I was training Buffy, Dawn's sister." He lightly picked up a picture frame, "This is her."
Supergirl smiled, "She and Dawn look happy."
Giles smiled, "They were." He sighed, "But Faith changed that for a time, filled their life with dread. I need to find this girl. Something terrible is about to befall her if she does not come back under my wing."
"This is all very confusing."
Giles sighed as he stood up moving to the window, the dark so thick—he started to see why the demons loved this town so much. He turned to her, "Supergirl, I'm about to entrust something to you, something very grave, something you'll try very hard to fight and find false in, but I tell you it is very much true."
"I'm listening."
He sat down, "My job is to be a Watcher."
"A watcher?"
He nodded lightly, "My job is to train girls, teach them, prepare them..."
"Prepare them for what?"
"To slay vampires, among many things."
Supergirl watched him quietly with a blank expression. "You're crazy aren't you."
Giles chuckled, "I wish I were."
"So you just train girls."
"Some watchers do, I had the pleasure of working with a bona fide slayer."
"Slayer?"
"A Slayer is a girl, one girl in all the world chosen by the Powers that Be to fight against the darkness, against vampires, with the strength, and skill to defeat them. The world is darker then you know, I've seen things you haven't even begun to imagine." He stared at her, "Though I know you've seen some terrible things--but this is the literal demon. The stories of the boogieman, the monster under the bed, they have basis in reality.
"The world is older than man thinks, for eons this world was Hell. Paradise came afterwards. Demons rampaged the earth, living for the kill. This was their home, their haven. Then they were cast out, and paved the way for man and paradise."
"So vampires are demons."
"Not exactly. The last demon recorded to have left the earth bit a human, mixed their blood, and created something new. He bit another, mixed their blood, and another. Vampires are beings possessed, corpses specifically, holding demons within. The books speak of certain magicks, demons, and..."
"Vampires."
Giles nodded. "The Slayer was created to stop these things, and the Watcher is there to help her, train her, prepare her for the battle she fights nightly. I trained Buffy when she came to Sunnydale, and when she died, another girl was called. When she died Faith was called."
"I thought you said Buffy just died."
"For the second time."
"Oh."
Giles smiled lightly, "Her friend Xander and her boyfriend at the time, Angel, saved her life. However, that didn't stop the chain of Slayers from going. When Faith came, we knew she wasn't like Buffy, or like her predecessor." He sighed, "She was full of anger, bloodlust, and power. One can make allowances for her terrible upbringing, and her lack of a watcher--her fear. I helped to train her, but..." He took off his glasses as he rubbed his eyes.
"But?"
"She killed a man in the line of duty."
"What?" Supergirl exclaimed aloud standing up to enforce her shock.
"You see, when you're in a war, you kill. You save human lives, the deputy mayor was in the wrong place, at the wrong time, and got in the way. Faith wasn't fast enough to realize." Giles stared up at her, "When a slayer fights, she fights with her stake, stabbing a vampire through the heart to destroy him."
"And the deputy mayor..." He nodded.
"She was so shocked she was in denial. She was unstable, I knew it, but I knew that the Council would try something. You see there is a Council of Watchers, whom governs us, gives us a set of rules, boundaries. Its a Secret Society that has ties in everything, government, merchandizing..."
"Political heads, businesses."
Giles nodded slowly, "You're catching on."
"Keep going."
"Faith felt betrayed when Wesley, the active watcher, tried to turn her in to the Council. Casualties have happened over the many, many, centuries. The Slayer has been here since the dawn of time. This is war she fights. However, Faith never stood a chance and went rogue, joining with our enemy of the time, the Mayor. He had her do many things..."
"Killing was one of them," Supergirl added softly.
"Yes. I suppose she would've done, and did, anything he asked of her--he was the only father figure she'd ever known. Nevertheless, Buffy stopped her. She was in a coma for eight months."
"God."
Giles sighed, sitting down, "After another futile attempt to get back at Buffy, she ran. To God knows where."
"She should go to the police, turn her in. Not trying to..."
"Supergirl, I understand that, but as I've said, the world is in great peril. With Buffy being dead, and gone, there is no Slayer to protect the world when Buffy cannot activate another Slayer. When one slayer dies, another is chosen. She's already filled her 'quota' so to speak."
"So the only way for another slayer to come is to kill Faith."
He nodded slowly, "And I fear the Council will..."
"Oh God."
Giles nodded, "You see my concern. I need Faith here, with me, if I can convince her to come back, for her to allow me to help her..."
"You'll save her life, and the fate of the world." He nodded.
Supergirl shook her head, "All of this sounds so crazy."
He nodded, "I know."
Giles stood up, moving toward the blond woman and said, "You don't believe me?"
She placed a hand under her chin and leaned forward, "Mr. Giles, you have to understand how this sounds coming from my point of view. Vampires? Demons?"
"Who would've thought that a woman could fly, and was made out of protomatter, or that an alien from another planet would be able to survive on Earth, or a woman born of wonder, molded from clay was real. You've seen many things Supergirl, why is this so hard to believe?"
"Proof." He stood up grabbing his coat. "Where are you going?"
"To get you proof. Follow me." He waited a beat and turned back to her, "You might want to change attire, you may be a distraction where we're going since we will be walking."
"I could just fly..." He shook his head, preventing her from continuing, "We have to walk. There's something I have to show you." He grabbed his bag and watched as she morphed her body, shifting her costume into a totally different dress.
He gave her a smile, "All the shape-shifter's I've known are in agony during the change—you do it with such ease."
She shrugged, "Its not as painless as it seems."
"Very well then, let us take our leave. There's a lot of town to cover."
* * * * *
"The cemetery?"
Giles nodded.
"You took me through the park, the local club for kids, and then the Industrial District, just to come to the Cemetery."
Giles frowned lightly, "Do you want your proof?"
Supergirl sighed, "So. Cemetery."
He nodded, "Fresh graves galore."
"How long does it usually take for one to...rise?"
"Depends. Sometimes all night, sometimes three minutes. It really rather depends on the situation; they're like people, rather fickle."
"So we just sit and wait." He nodded. She sighed, sitting down in front of a grave, "So. Tell me about yourself Mr. Giles."
He smiled, "I'm a watcher, a man who never really accepted his destiny and did many unfavorable things to try and deter from it." He chuckled, "But it ended up finding him anyhow."
She smiled, "So you weren't exactly fond of destiny were you?"
He shook his head, "Rather against it actually. Watchers ran in my family, my father before me, grandmother before him. It was a family affair, and quite destined that I become one too." He sighed and smiled lightly, "However when I was ten, I was fairly certain I was going to become a fighter pilot...or a grocer." Supergirl chuckled as she smiled broadly.
"What about you, Supergirl?"
"What do you mean," she replied quietly staring at the blades of grass.
"Well, what about your past. I know bits and pieces—I really don't keep in touch with the news."
"What would you like to know?"
"About you. I don't want to seem rude, but is answering that question that hard for you?"
"Its just weird I suppose, I like hearing about peoples lives, their pasts. I really don't have one worth remembering—or one at all really."
Giles nodded slowly, "I see."
She cleared her throat, "Life as I know it began like this, fully grown. I have no parents to speak of, nor do I have a childhood to reminisce about." Supergirl held herself close, "I don't even have a real name." She gave herself a half-smile, "Though many people call me different things, Mae, Matrix." She looked out into the stars, "Where I came from, the world is very different. We had only one superhero on our earth—because I came from a pocket universe you see—and Superboy had gone missing. The Lex Luthor of my world, he engineered me from DNA of a dead girl named Lana Lang, and cloned me using the DNA as a matrix with Protomatter.
"He engineered my powers, the invisibility, the telekinetic blasts, the psyche-invulnerability, and the super strength, all of it. The Lex from my world was as kind as this world's is cruel and unwavering; which is part of the reason I fell in love with him, I thought he was just as my creator was, kind—but I was very wrong.
"My world's Lex created a costume for me similar to Superboy's, and sent me to this earth. Superman finally found me, and we fought side by side, but I failed—we couldn't save my world.
"So Superman brought me to this Earth, and I've called it home ever since." Giles nodded, "Amazing." She smiled lightly, "One would think."
Giles' eyebrows furrowed, and as he was about to say something, when Supergirl became startled lifting off into the air as a vampire erupted from hollowed ground, snarling, and growling—hunger emanated from his yellow glowing eyes.
"Oh dear," Giles gasped backing away, "where are the damned stakes?"
He bent over, searching through the bags as Supergirl slammed into the vampire, "Oh my Lord, its real…"
Giles nodded, as she landed near him. "Keep him busy Supergirl, but be careful, I don't know how much his strength and your strength match up." She nodded as the vampire rammed at her, but she lifted off distracting him away from Giles. She fired one of her psychokinetic blasts knocking the vampire clear on his back, only to have him stand back up.
The vampire jumped at her, knocking her down, slamming his fist into her. Her eyes widened as she felt the blow, perhaps not as hard as a human would, but she could feel some of the pain. She slammed him off her and she rolled up. Giles frantically searched through his bag until the vampire grabbed a hold of him, "No!"
"Giles!"
"Supergirl, his head—see if you can…" The vampire grumbled, and bit down hard on Giles, leaving Supergirl shocked her eyes widened, and she let loose. With her super speed, she ran for the vampire, pulling him away from Giles. She grabbed a tree branch and slammed the branch into his chest, breaking the ribcage and he crumbled into dust, "Thank God for horror movies," she mumbled under her breath. She turned back to Giles and rushed to his side, "Are you ok?"
He nodded, "I'll be fine, you got him just in time."
Supergirl helped him as she heard him ask, "Was that proof enough for you?"
She nodded slowly, ripping a piece of her shirt off so that he could put pressure on his neck. "You should see a doctor…"
Clapping.
Loud thunderous clapping came from behind the two as a man stood over a tomb in a almost Batman-like pose, leering over them, "Very good show Angel. Very good."
"Who're you?!" Giles shouted as the blond man smirked, watching as Giles staggered a bit as he rose up from the ground.
"I'm…not a friend. But I must say, you two together, it just bring me to tears."
Supergirl lifted off, facing him face to face, "What do you want?" He smiled, "Well hello, Angelic Slayer, its nice to finally meet you."
She glared at him, "Wish I could say the same."
"But you want to know who I am, why I'm touched." He smiled, "Please Supergirl. I'd tend to Mr. Giles; we'll meet again soon enough. Hell is coming to town, and I do believe its only saviors are split apart. If they can save it." He cackled and disappeared as Supergirl tried to grab him, and eerily his voice floated into the air, "The name is Buzz, we'll meet again, Angelic One."
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Consider this a sign:
This is a train in the night
And now it's time for you to go
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Giles rubbed his bandaged neck lightly as he held Dawn close, "Thank you, Supergirl, for doing this."
"Well, after what I saw last night, and meeting…whoever that was, I definitely think she should come back."
"She won't come willingly, Faith…isn't exactly one for joining clubs—very much like Groucho Marx, that one." Supergirl nodded.
Giles took a deep breath, "I've briefed you on all her history, her usual haunts, her idiosyncrasies…." He pulled out a thick envelope, "These are pictures to help you, she answers to Faith. She doesn't very much use her full name."
Dawn sighed, "I always thought 'Faith L. Danvers' was kind of pretty."
Supergirl smiled, "So do I." Dawn smiled softly as Supergirl waved goodbye, "I'll bring her back. I promise." With that said, Supergirl lifted off into the air and took off.
Dawn looked up at Giles, "Do you think she'll be able to find her? She could be anywhere."
Giles sighed, "I'm hoping." He looked back down at Dawn, "Do not breath a word of this to anyone, is that clear." He gave her a small smile, "It'll be our little secret."
"Promise."
Meanwhile up in the air, Supergirl stopped and floated gently above in the atmosphere staring at the lighted city; Sunnydale seemed like such a nice town. She sighed, opening the envelope and pulled out the picture.
Her eyes widened, "You." She slid the picture back in, and soared back around—back to the town she came from before coming to Sunnydale; it seemed Drunken Girl had a name, and it was Faith.
* * * * *
Faith rocked her body left and right, rubbing against the man before her moving to the beat of the music. The fast tempo, the mixing techno hypnotic feel to it encompassed her mind and she grinned, definitely her kind of music.
She rubbed the man's hands against her thighs as she felt the seductive riff of the song, and gave him a sultry smile. When the song finished, she was out of breath, fumbling toward ecstasy as she spoke to the man in a slurred voice, "Let's go have a real party…at your place…."
The man smirked and nodded slowly. She grabbed his hand, still dancing to a different song as she parted through the crowd. Once she felt the cool breeze of the night air she let go of the man, the music blaring inside could be heard faintly as Faith spun around lightly taking a big whiff of fresh air, "Oh gotta love this!" She stopped and signaled the man to follow her with her fingers and stopped when she saw his eyes widen, "What's wrong?"
Suddenly blinding pain filled her mind as she fell forward and blackness passed over her eyes as she heard a groan of pain, and a loud slurping growl. Oh, shit.
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I close my eyes
I don't wanna find out how she died
Foolish pride
You can't expect to turn away tonight
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